A while back I had a client call me to tell me her mothers reaction to one of our videos. Her story gave me chills. I had created a video for her father’s memorial. They decided to play it at her brother’s house afterwards. They played it in his family room and kept it playing over and over again for hours.

During all that time, her mother sat on the couch and watched the video over and over again. For a number of years her mother has had Alzheimer’s and hasn’t even recognized her own children. But her daughter told me as she watched this her face started to light up. She used music that was all her fathers’ favorites and her mother started moving to the music.

After a while she started recognizing her husband and her children on the screen. By the end of the evening she was telling people, this is my daughter. She was recognizing all her kids. Her daughter said it was amazing how she reacted to the video. It was just for a while, but for them this experience was amazing.

She called me to talk to me about creating her mothers story now. She wants to do this while her mother can still respond to it.

Even now this story is getting me emotional. To know that something I created allowed these kids to have connection with their mother again. That is priceless!

If you would like to reconnect with your family, give us a call (877) 887-8658 or go to our website for more information http://tearsofjoyvideo.com

If you have had a parent with Alzheimer’s, what ways have you used to reconnect with them?

The best storyteller in my life was my mom. My mom was handicapped, but as her body broke down around her, her mind was as sharp as a tack. She had a way with words that made everyday occurrences seem like major events, and she had a memory (which she passed on to me) that she could remember things far back in her life with deep detail. My sister and I used to go sit on her bed and ask her to tell us stories of her life. We had heard these before, but we never tired of hearing them over and over again. I can repeat these stories in detail like my mom, and have past them on, but no one could tell them like her. For certain stories she even changed her voice for the characters, and she did the facial expressions of the person of the event she was relating. When I relate the stories-some of the story is lost. We lost that with my mom’s death.

Storytelling is an art. Some are writers. Some cannot write, like my mom (there were no home computers when she was alive-and her disease caused her not to be able to write-even her signature was hard), but they have a great way of telling a story. If our video business was around when my mom was alive, I know I would of forced her to tell those stories on camera. But now the way she told those stories is lost forever.

I believe my mom’s story telling was passed on to my sister and me through our talent of creating video montages. Now with our video business we cannot only create our own stories, but we can help our customers create their stories. When we capture their story with their pictures and video, many times they come back to us and say it was much better than they ever expected. Yes, they cry “Tears of Joy”! It is rewarding to know we have captured their family stories, their memories-and now they can have them forever. We know from personal experience what that means.

These stories don’t have to be of some spectacular event. Like my mom, your best stories are lying in your own personal experiences that happen to you everyday. Sharing your feelings and then your solutions or the lessons you learned from the situation.

Check out our site. http://tearsofjoyvideo.com/Biography-Interview-Packages.html. If you live in the San Diego area we can interview you on camera and add your stories in with your pictures and video. Outside of San Diego, we have do-it-yourself instructions on how to capture your stories with something as simple as an Iphone or digital camera and then add that to your video.

We would love to hear your story. As our tag line says: Everyone has a story…What’s yours? Who was your favorite storyteller?

Tears of Joy Video of Encinitas, California would like to announce their new Celebration of Life Packages. Two sisters, Juli and Cathie Dodd, who have owned the business a little over 7 years, created these packages after helping a number of their clients with their memorial videos.

“At this emotional time of loss many of our clients were overwhelmed with all they had to do in getting ready for the memorial of their loved one, “ said Cathie Dodd. “They would ask if we knew someone who could create the programs, the picture poster, a personalize guest book, or a memorial website. Since we had done this many times for friends and in our own family, we offered to do it for them. They were very happy to have one service where they could give all their photographs and have everything prepared for them. We decided to create a package that would have all these items created for them at one low price.”

Why did they call them the “Celebration of Life” packages? “We were noticing a trend in our clients steering away from the traditional funeral, and instead holding a Celebration of Life memorial service where it focused on the life lived instead of the death” said Cathie Dodd “Our products all are creations that help people focus on this wonderful person by using photographs, video, titles, and stories. The Celebration of Life Package seemed to be the best name for what is being provided”.

Since many people are planning their own memorials or celebrations of life outside the memorial homes or churches, many are looking for creative solutions to make their celebration special. Tears of Joy Video Celebration of Life Packages could be just what you are looking for. They have helped clients in their own backyard of San Diego, as well as throughout the United States. The owners have been through this a number of times and can offer suggestions to help you create the perfect celebration, bringing honor and lasting memories of the loved one who was lost. They are experts at turning your grief into Tears of Joy. Their packages can be found at http://www.tearsofjoyvideo.com/Celebration-of-Life.html or call them toll free at (877) 887-8658.